Quoting Rich Blinne <rich.blinne@gmail.com>:
>
> I think it is helpful to explore exactly what it means to be charitable in
> this context. Truth not only has a factual component but a moral one as
> well. The abuse of humor can be a dangerous thing as evidenced from the
> following proverb:
>
> Proverbs 26:18-19
> 18 Like a madman shooting
> firebrands or deadly arrows
> 19 is a man who deceives his neighbor
> and says, "I was only joking!"

> It is very tempting to make a snide remark and say well I put a smiley on
> it. Sorry, but that just doesn't cut it Biblically. We may be right
> factually but not right morally.
>
> I am currently a member of an Evangelical Free church. Prior to that I was a
> member and ruling elder in the PCA. As part of my official duties, I was
> once appointed prosecutor in an ecclesiastical trial. This caused me to
> study the PCA's Book of Church Order in detail. Within there is a nugget of
> Biblical wisdom that applies to this issue and that is concerning rules for
> a complaint.
>
> A complaint is where a member believes that the church session erred in one
> or more of their decisions. The member can make a written remonstration
> against the error and the session is obligated to hear that complaint and if
> they fail to deal with it that decision can be appealed to higher courts.
> The Biblical wisdom in the details of this procedure is *all complaints must
> be couched in temperate language*.
>
> I would add that many times the requirement to be temperate is inversely
> proportional to the degree of the error. Note that the greatest injustice in
> history was met by silence from Jesus' lips. In order to be charitable, we
> must have the good of our brothers and sisters -- indeed all people -- at
> mind at all times. If we are to correct their error we need to do so in a
> loving fashion. Name calling particularly when combined with false
> accusation will never win people over as they will retreat into their cocoon
> of error. We may feel better but our brother is not won. Both giving up
> trying to correct others and correcting others in an arrogant or demeaning
> fashion are uncharitable. This is what it means to follow the Biblical
> admonition to love the truth.
>

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Received on Thu Feb 15 15:35:23 2007